


Contractual Obligations

by ChaoticNeutral



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Bad Decisions, Demon Deals, F/M, Manipulation, Puppet Master, Twilight Spitefic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 05:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11269170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticNeutral/pseuds/ChaoticNeutral
Summary: Everything just seemed to fall into place. No matter what she did, no matter who was hurt because of her, no matter what technically should have happened, there were no consequences. Any problem was taken care of. Everything she ever wanted, she now had.And wasn't it all just a little too perfect?Meet the puppet master. He has a few words for you.





	Contractual Obligations

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another story that once existed in the proboards forum. Because everything worked out just a little too well in the series, regardless of reason or logic or what actual consequences should have arisen from any of the character's actions.
> 
> Because other than being a Mary Sue fantasy, what OTHER reason could someone have to want such things?
> 
> Here's one reason.

Contractual Obligations

* * *

 

Good morning, Miss Swan.

Well, I suppose it’s not quite morning yet, but such details hardly matter at this point.

It is a lovely morning, isn’t it? Such a beautiful sunrise that greets us this day!

You are truly fortunate to be able to witness such a sight. The same cannot be said of most others.

It is truly sad, I think, that so many cannot enjoy this view. Either because they are simply not in the right place. Or even, like you, they simply don’t care to look two feet past themselves to enjoy the scenery. Perhaps they are simply blind.

Or dead. Yes, a good number of unfortunate souls passed on too early to experience this glory. But I suppose you would know all about that, wouldn’t you? You should, given how many died specifically because of you. Then again, you hardly give the time of day to anyone who isn’t Edward. I suppose it’s too much to ask that you actually give consideration to your victims, even now.

But I digress.

Do you know what makes this morning so grand? So important?

Of course you don’t. That was rhetorical.

This is a very special morning.

Because today, Miss Swan, is the day you die.

You seem shocked. Don’t be. All things must come to an end, after all.

Please stop trying to break your bonds. I didn’t prepare them specifically for you just to have you waste time trying to show off.

Yes, I suppose it would be murder. But then again, how many humans died because of you?

Hmm, I see disinterest in your eyes. Did their lives not matter to you?

Of course, of course. You are immortal now, after all. What could such minuscule existence matter compared to yours?

But what about the ones that died when you were still human? What made your life so much greater than theirs when you were no different from them?

No, please! Don’t be shy! Come right on out and say it. I **insist**.

You’re special?

Huh. How...expectedly droll. I would like to say I’m disappointed, but that would require me to be surprised.

Well, I suppose it makes sense that you would feel that way. It’s a rather common belief, after all. If you think about it, every person is special to him or herself. And to the others that know them, but then again, you wouldn’t know about that given your complete disregard for anyone who isn’t you and doesn’t sparkle somehow.

Oh, don’t look at me that way. You know it’s true. You’re hardly alone in thinking yourself special. Though I suppose there should be some concern about what lengths you’d go to in order to prove that, but that’s a human concern and neither of us are human anymore.

What? Aren’t I human? Of course not, you stupid girl. And before you ask, I’m not one of you, either, so please don’t insult me by insinuating such.

Yes, it is insulting. For a being that is supposed to be so “perfect” compared to humans, it astounds me how completely flawed you are. How sad, that despite your self-perpetuating belief of being above humans, you hold everything that you look down on them for. Pride, greed, self-gratification, apathy, shallowness. I honestly don’t see how anyone could call you selfless. There isn’t a single thing you’ve done in your life that was truly done for anyone other than yourself.

Oh, please. If you really came to Forks for your mother’s sake, you wouldn’t have acted so put-upon and tortured in doing it. Any fool could have been able to tell you didn’t want to go, and while your mother is as close to a fool one can get, even she could see your act for what it was. Honestly, everyone could. Your father, your “ordinary” friends, if you would even call them that...actually, now that I think about it, the only ones who COULDN’T seem to see the obvious were the supposed “special beings”, particularly your precious Edward—though given how reliant he is on his mind-reading capabilities, it’s honestly no surprise that he’s become completely incapable of actually reading people.

What, you’re offended for him? I suppose I should apologize for daring to insult your precious Edward, but that would imply that what I said wasn’t actually the truth.

His power is a joke. A rather pathetic attempt to convince himself of his own superiority by invading the minds of others and excusing his intrusion with a half-hearted “I can’t control it”. He uses his own wrongdoing to look down on his victims whom he continuously violates without even a shred of remorse, and then turns around and considers himself the morally righteous one in the situation by picking apart the others he constantly wrongs. He knows nothing of people. He doesn’t even try to. All he does is glean the surface thoughts from a person and then automatically assumes he “knows” them.

It takes time and actual effort to truly know someone, Miss Swan. If you were capable of looking way from Edward’s “topaz eyes” and noticing the world around you, you might know that. There are plenty of other interesting people and things to see in this world, after all.

What, “why would I care so much about humans when I’m not one myself and am clearly above them?”

I like humans. They’re interesting.

What’s that? “What makes them so interesting?”

Why, I would have thought you would known the answer to that. You used to be human, after all.

Oh, my apologies. You’re better than that now, right? Always have been, supposedly. And what is one...or one hundred measly humans compared to one such as you?

Well, don’t you look full of yourself? There’s that pride again. How human...shame you lack any of the other aspects humans have that make them worthwhile.

Hmm?

Well, of course humans are weak and flawed! Didn’t you know? That’s the point. It’s what makes humans interesting—seeing how they get by and become stronger despite so many flaws. Getting to watch them grow and change. Watching some fall...and watching others rise above their base flaws into truly miraculous people. Their auras...the color of their souls is truly a sight to behold!

You look confused. The colors? Oh, of course you can’t see them. You never really cared to, after all. Most of your kind never have, even as humans. Hmm, I wonder if that sense of superiority and shallowness is what allows you lot to survive the process of becoming such monsters?

Yes, you are a monster now, my dear. Deal with it. Your husband warned you that you would be once you were turned. His family warned you. That little wolf and his friends warned you. Getting to be “pretty” and “sparkly” forever doesn’t make you NOT a monster. Though to be honest, you were already a monster internally before you ever became one physically, so I doubt that much change was necessary for you.

Oh, did that hurt your feelings? Weren’t you the one crowing about how you were “born” to become a vampire? Not that you actually are, but that goes into details that I have neither the time nor the desire to try and explain to you. You wouldn’t understand it anyway, even if you were inclined to actually listen. You are rather annoyingly stubborn and difficult to get to take note of things you don’t want to hear. Another “imperfect” human trait you have, and one I’m not willing to try and combat when the end result is going to be the same before today is over.

Now where was I? Oh yes! Human flaws. They are rather endearing, actually.

After all, who is really impressed when the invincible, undefeatable, confident immortal slays the dragon and saves the princess? No one, of course. He’s so strong and powerful and dare I say, “perfect”, that there was never really any doubt of his victory. No chance he COULD lose. And, of course, there is the fact that he is immortal. It actually takes the fun out of watching when you already know the outcome.

Ah, but take a regular boy—small, weak, unsure—and throw him into such a situation...now THAT makes for an interesting show. Sure, he could die horribly—so could most people. But then again, if he were to succeed...now THAT would be an epic to see. It’s the knowledge that failure is a very real possibility and how it is overcome that makes the story worth hearing.

And that is humanity. Flawed. Weak. But with this rather baffling determination and insatiable curiosity that you can’t help but want to see where it takes them.

Because humans are rather interesting.

What? What do you mean “what about you?” In the whole of my explanation, was that the only thing you could be bothered to think about?

What about you? You’re hardly of any significance anymore. You were a useless dreg of a person before you were changed, and you weren’t even worth note afterwards.

Special? That again? You think this makes you special? That becoming what you are is something to be admired?

No. What you are, my dear, is lazy. You fully intend to live the rest of eternity striving for nothing—simply leeching off others to maintain a standard of living that you neither really appreciate nor understand, and have contributed nothing to earn. How boring. You will have an entire eternity to live, and you’re going to waste it simply sitting around being " _perfect"_.

At least, that’s how things would have gone if not for one minor little detail.

Namely, **me.**

What’s this? Are you worried now?

I suppose I should feel proud for eliciting some fear from a creature such as yourself, but honestly, it’s not as though you were ever that strong of a person to begin with.

Yes, well obviously Edward says a lot of things. That you’re “selfless”, “loving”, etcetera, etcetera. That hardly makes them true. Like you, he seems to only be able to see what he wants to see in others.

You want to deny this? Ha hah, please! That would only be a waste of time, and I already told you, I’m on a tight schedule.

As a human, you were foolish, selfish, and laughably weak. But most humans are in some way, and as a human, you still warranted some curiosity. Would you change? Would you become better? Could you possible be worse? There was no telling, and that was where the interest lied.

But then you took the low road and chose this path. Now here you are: still foolish, still selfish, and maybe a single step above laughably weak. The only difference is that instead of the false modesty you displayed as a human, you openly show how prideful and egocentric you really were all along. No growth, no change. Just less discretion in how you go about things. Which is a shame, actually, since your ability to manipulate and fool others was one of the only remotely useful things about you.

Sadly, now that you've become what you are, you simply...stopped being interesting.

My apologies. I would have liked to spare you given that you were a somewhat note-worthy human, however minimally...but when you gave up your humanity, you simply gave up everything that could have made you even remotely salvageable.

Not to mention all the other equally—if not more interesting folks who were forced to meet a rather untimely demise due to your own stupidity. So many vibrant and amazing colors blotted out by a dull, ugly maroon.

And no, you weren’t worth it. The lives of two hundred and ninety seven innocent people were not a “small price” to pay for your personal happiness. It was all just a complete waste of life that had been lost simply so that you could throw away your own.

What? It wasn’t that many? Oh, you’re right. Eleven of those women were actually pregnant, so I suppose that’d make it three hundred and nine.

No, my math isn’t off. One of them was having twins. So all in all, not only have you destroyed lives, you’ve robbed people of the new life you hold yourself in such high regard for creating. You must be so proud.

Yes, it IS your fault. Please don’t try to convince yourself otherwise. That is simply lying to yourself and demeaning the significance of what you’ve done to people.

Oh please, all you’ll do is cry into Edward’s arms and just forget about all of this. Ignoring things doesn’t make them go away, and you have a most...annoying tendency to forget about things you don’t want to think about rather than actually TRY to make up for anything. And that is why you, nor the rest of your precious Cullens are redeemable.

Redemption takes WORK. Something you’ve never had to do.

Maybe if you actually had any intention of going to college or at least trying to do something useful with yourself. Become a doctor and heal people. Or a scientist and discover cures for a multitude of debilitating diseases. Or an engineer, computer designer, maybe even president. Of course, since it is you we’re talking about and given the state of your grades, none of those options were very likely to begin with. But at least they were possible.

Not anymore, though.

Because once you threw your life away to become...THAT...you gave up everything else.

Oh sure, it was for love. Yes, yes, and I’m sure you would think it was worth it because as far as you are concerned, you have everything you wanted. And if you have everything you want, what use is something as inconvenient as a soul?

You don’t understand? How can I explain it...?

Souls are like lit candles, my dear. They flicker, they brighten, they dim, they go this way and that, and they cast all kinds of wondrous shadows and images upon any surface that surrounds them. Creators of both light and shadow at the same time, all wrapped up into one seemingly insignificant package. In all of existence, things that can create such a paradox are rare, you know; and yet here we have millions—billions of them all at once and all here in the same place! You’d think they’d get dull after a while, but for as many as there are, they are all still different—every one worth individual attention to see the inner complexity and influence each has. From the size of the flame to the amount of light or darkness it gives off, how it reacts to the flames of others, and the colors! OH, the colors! From the most vibrant and bold to the dull and mellow, and they’re always shifting—some so fast it’s near impossible to pick out any of the colors its been and others so slowly you couldn’t be sure there had been any change at all.

THAT is what makes souls worthwhile. That interplay, that shift, that constant motion! Aaah, the swirls of colors and ripples of life that change them are truly sights to behold! Lesser beings they may be, but no higher powers can adequately simulate such beauty even if they were to try! And humans—lowly, pathetic humans manage it so brilliantly without even realizing it!

Ah! Forgive me for rambling. I am quite taken by the effects of such presence, and cannot help but admire their flames wherever I may see them. There is so much wonder in one life; I would like to see them through to the end—whatever that end may be.

Sometimes the candles simply reach the end of their wick and the flame fades. It’s regretful to see the loss of one of those beautiful flames, but it had reached the end of its life and had put on a wonderful show worth remembering. Like a masterful work of art occurring over time, each is to be admired and appreciated.

But then there are the wicks cut short—the flames extinguished before they could finish their performance. By **you**. And **those creatures**. There is no greater tragedy than for a life to be destroyed before it can reach its full potential. **And that these lives were destroyed by you and all the others like you, all of whom can’t even compare to the majesty of even ONE of those lights**...THAT, truly, is a shame.

It’s one thing for humans to kill each other. At least then the flames still live on in some fashion so long as the one who killed them has a soul through which they can continue their dance.

But the problem comes in that you don’t have a soul anymore.

No, my dear, you really don’t. You gave it up—no, actually, that’s not quite right. You didn’t so much “give” it up as you tossed it away like trash in exchange for fool’s gold.

It’s like you gave away your personal candle and flame and replaced it with one of those...what do you call them? Those little plastic toys made to look like candles only with a false clear flame held inside glass. But they’re simply cheap replacements and completely inadequate compared to the real thing. I honestly don’t see why anyone would prefer them. I suppose such a thing could be used as some sort of decoration, maybe, but it’s barely worth a cursory glance before it gets boring and is forgotten about.

**And that’s you.** Now, at least.

Granted, you weren’t that appealing of a color as a human, either. A rather dull, ugly shade of grayish green. And not even a good green, either. If you’re going to be envious, you could at least do something about it and make for a nicer color rather than stewing in your hate and allowing it to just set like that and blot everything else.

It’s no wonder the other humans couldn’t stand to be around you. A color like that taints everything around it, and while humans may not be the smartest of creatures, most of them still know enough to avoid those who produce such a toxic flame.

Apparently, the supernatural beings you know don’t have that capacity. Or maybe they feed off it. Misery loves company, after all, and you were one giant block of it. It stands to reason that one who radiates such negativity would attract creatures composed entirely of it. Maybe you would have grown out of it. I personally doubt it. But now we’ll never know for sure.

It’s a shame. I might have liked to go ahead and see where you would go from here as you are, except for one thing...

You don’t change. It comes with being an undead monstrosity, after all. You don’t grow. You don’t develop. You are, essentially, frozen—fixed both physically and mentally within a single moment of time for the rest of your existence.

And what interest, what USE is there in a candle with a frozen flame?

It shines no light and casts no shadow. It offers no warmth. You can hardly use it for anything. Sure, I suppose it looks pretty, but when you look past that, what else is there to do with it? It is simply THERE and it takes up space.

Space that could be put to use for other things. Better things.

And that is you, my dear. I would apologize, but again, I won’t regret your passing. There is nothing remotely salvageable about you.

I suppose I should be grateful to you for one thing, though. If it had not been for you, that male never would have fallen in love—if you can even call it that. And if he didn’t fall in love, then there would be nothing to take away from him.

You look surprised. What, did you really think this was about you? Oh my, no! It was about him. Though I suppose everything is about him as far as you’re concerned, so this revelation shouldn’t be that much of a surprise for you.

Honestly, I would much rather have killed him to start with. It would have been so much simpler.

Hmm? Yes, while I suppose your irrevocable faith in him is amusing, I AM fully capable of killing him. And after watching him whine for the past half-century, I’m certain that I would have done him and the world a favor by doing so. Sadly, even I am set by limits.

Don’t start looking smug just yet, my dear. I captured you easily enough; I can handle him just as swiftly. It is not that I am not capable of killing your dear Edward, but rather that I am contractually obligated not to. But one can be sent into a rage watching that boy needlessly angst for one year, much less decades. If he truly felt so bad about what he had done, he could have at least ATTEMPTED some form of redemption. But apparently, he was like you in that he preferred to sit and whine about how horrible his life was instead of actually DOING anything about it.

But I digress, I couldn’t simply do what I wanted. Not in this case.

You see, I adore human souls. So much so, I would like to keep them when I am able. Sadly, I know it's not possible to have them all, but every so often, there will be one that just stands out. Beautiful. Graceful. Irresistible. Overflowing with hope and emotion that those of my ilk wouldn't understand. And best of all, ripe for taking, given the right incentive. But I do have standards, and a stolen soul is such a weak and brittle thing. So much damage can be done by forceful taking of such a sensitive thing that it completely ruins it and any effect it once had. It makes the soul useless, with none of the previous strength or beauty. Theft is no good. It's simply not practical even if it was. But a favor—a contract, to be precise...well, that's just a fair trade.

Unfortunately, contracts are rather sticky things, and my last contractor worded her request in a way that I must abide to strictly. A pleasant woman. Annoyingly specific regarding the terms of the contract, though. Oh well. I can’t say this wasn’t perhaps more entertainment than I thought I’d be able to get out of you creatures, despite the annoyance and lengthy amount of time it’s taking to complete her wishes.

My contractor? Oh, quite the lady, she was. A lovely, rich, dark color of red that I’d almost think had become black with rage-turned-hatred if it hadn’t been tinted with a blue sheen from her sorrow. It seems the love of your life ate the love of hers. Poor dear. She was quite upset at the time, if I remember. Made it a bit difficult to conduct the deal properly, though. It is rather taxing to attempt business with a crying lady, but we had managed to work it out in the end. Revenge is a rather simple and straightforward business, after all. You find the target, you kill him in some painful and amusing manner, you leave. No muss, no fuss. Only problem was, I didn’t realize untill AFTER the negotiations just how complicated it was going to be.

**Lose the smirk, girl.** I already told you: it’s not that I couldn’t kill him. Even your kind can burn if thrown into the sun, after all. No, it’s that the contract wouldn’t let me. When she stated her terms, she asked that her husband’s killer feel her pain. I’m afraid I didn’t realize it at the time—a lapse on my part and not one I’m about to repeat anytime soon, I assure you. Not after the headache this has been...

Hmm? You don’t understand. I suppose it was to be expected. You are rather oblivious unless things are spelled out for you—particularly when it comes to consequences.

She asked for your husband to feel her pain. Not the pain of the one he murdered, no—HERS. And hers was the pain of one who has just lost the person she loved most.

Oo-hoh! Now you see where this is going, don’t you?

So no, I couldn’t simply kill him, otherwise how else was he to feel her pain? Instead I was required to take away that which he loves. Unfortunately, being such an irredeemable monster, he didn’t truly love anyone or anything. So I’ve been stuck here, watching him and his equally repugnant family for decades, waiting for that **parasite** to grow a heart and actually give a damn about...well... **ANYTHING.**

**Do you have any idea how ANNOYING it was? Stuck here, having to follow a bunch of pompous and arrogant fools around for DECADES as they spent their eternity repeating HIGH SCHOOL, of all things? All while waiting for ONE of them to so much as actually look past his own nose at other people, much less fall in love with one? In HIGH SCHOOL? Not college, where at least there would be SOME interesting things to do and the potential bed partners would be of legal age and not attract as much attention, but HIGH SCHOOL!**

Hmm? Oh, well, I guess if you have each other, nothing else matters, right? It’s not as though life could get boring or anything. And heaven forbid you actually develop an interest outside of Edward. So you actually intend to spend the next eternity just...what? Staring at him? Having sex? Being attached to him like an extra limb? How simple-minded are you?

No, please don’t answer. I don’t want to know.

Still, I suppose I should express some gratitude to you. I had honestly come to believe that he would never fall in love. Given his complete disdain of any and all of the female gender, I was half-convinced that he was a closet homosexual. Not that the gender would have made a difference, mind you, but with him being so completely in denial, it would have been near impossible for him to ever truly allow himself fall in love with anyone.

But he did.

With you.

After all those years, he finally found someone to care about. Someone who would actually bother with him. Did you know, Miss Swan, that most humans actually had just as much interest in your darling Edward as he had in them? Or should I say they had just as little interest? Sure, he was “pretty”, but most humans know a creepy bastard when they see one. And they know to avoid him.

Everyone except you, that is.

Apparently, that was another aspect of humanity you failed to receive. Along with survival instincts and common sense. Why did you jump off that cliff, anyway?

All the same, you were the only one willing to even try to get close to the Cullens, the only one stupid enough not to run away when their true nature smacked you in the face, and the only one greedy and egotistical enough to be so DETERMINED to get what they have.

You were **perfect**. Well, perfect enough for my plans, anyway, and I will admit that I had become particularly desperate by that time as well.

The problem was, of course, that your dearest Edward had fully come to believe that since he can hear their minds, he knew everything there was to know about people and wouldn’t bother trying to get close to anyone. Except for you, of course, though I’m sure that if he really knew what you were thinking all that time, he would have been much less impressed.

Why yes, I am aware of your thoughts. And I found your comparison of Edward to an “Adonis” to be most humorous.

Oh, look, you’re trying to put up your little “shield” to block me. How adorable. Now if only you actually had a shield in the first place, you might be the least bit threatening.

No, you never had a “love shield”. For one, they don’t exist in that manner and even if they did, you would have to actually HAVE any love for it to work.

I’m sorry, but self-love does not count.

The shield was perhaps one of the most annoying points of this venture. True, it did prevent me from having to come up with some “super power” to live up to your fantasy, but having to constantly be watching your mind just to know what you wanted to do with it and adjusting it according to your wishes was rather tiresome.

The reading your mind part. Not so much the adjusting the block.

Do you have any idea what it’s like being stuck in your head? Nothing but angst, whining about your life, either envying the immortal abominations or preening yourself for being “better than human” once you became one yourself, and, of course, oogling Edward.

How dare I invade your privacy? You didn’t seem to have a problem with it when it was Edward. Then again, you seem to bend a lot of rules when it comes to him. Speed limit, fraud, abusive tendencies, and—oh yes, **MURDER**.

He’s taken the life of a fully-sentient creature who is able to communicate in words he can understand with feelings he should be able to comprehend that “hey, I don’t want to die”, and you don’t consider that murder?

You know, it’s not actually necessary for survival if one can survive without doing it.

Oh yes, yes. Vampires, food chain, etcetera. But tell me this, child: if it’s acceptable for vampires to kill humans, then by that logic, should they have not simply let James or Victoria kill you?

Oh, you’re speechless. It’s a rather nice change.

Of course YOU couldn’t be killed. Obviously, the Cullens would not have let you be hurt, and even if they weren’t there, I was still hardly about to abandon my project. Not after I’ve invested so much effort.

Hmm? What do I mean by that? Silly girl. Didn’t you ever wonder? Didn’t you even once consider it strange? So many good things, all happening to you. And you never had to try for a single one of them. Not really.

Yes, while I applaud your idiocy, I hardly call putting yourself in needless danger as “trying” for a relationship.

The real reason Edward couldn’t read your mind was NOT because you were “special” or because you had any sort of mental shield. Those few who DID have a mental shield had to work very, VERY hard to create one, and MUST know what they are doing. You lack both the knowledge and the willingness to put in effort.

So I did it for you. I did a lot of things for you, actually. I am the reason Edward even noticed you in the first place. I am the reason he couldn’t read your mind so he would assume that you were “different” as he certainly wouldn’t bother trying to get to know you otherwise. I am the reason your blood “sang” to him so greatly that he couldn’t resist being near you. Ensuring that obstacles would remain in place to keep him from avoiding you. Even keeping dear police chief Swan asleep so he wouldn’t notice the rather obvious creaking and whispers from your room when dear Edward would enter through your window at night.

Did you really think it was all you?

For that matter, didn’t it strike you as odd that nothing ever happened to you because of your actions? You mistreated your human friends and they never really did anything to retaliate against you, despite whatever “Anti-Bella agenda” you believed they had. You threw yourself off a cliff and nobody demanded you seek psychiatric help. You ran away from home to gallivant around Europe without even bothering to leave your poor, worried father a note saying where you’d gone, and he simply lets you back in the house without so much as a grounding after you exert your complete lack of power in the situation and force him to stand down and accept your demands. Even the Volturi oddly chose to run home rather than simply obliterate you all.

Making good things happen and keeping all those nasty little consequences away, just a courtesy of your own personal demon.

**You’re welcome, by the way.**

“No! It’s not true!” Well, I’m afraid it is. I put quite a lot of effort into you, my dear, I am hardly going to deny credit for my part in things.

Why? It was necessary for my goals. Edward looked down on people because he could read their minds and thus assumed he knew everything he’d need to about them. All I had to do to get his attention was present someone with a mind he couldn’t read, and sure enough, he drove himself crazy trying to figure you out. Not that there was much there to figure out, but he certainly didn't need to know that.

Why you? Well, you were different from other humans, after all.

What? Oh no, my dear, it wasn’t that they were selfish. Rather, it was that they weren’t nearly selfish enough.

They all had friends, families, actual interests, and a basic concern for the well-being of others, or at least some form of common sense that told them “hey, DON’T put yourself in danger for attention!”

But you? For all your complaints about it, you craved attention from others. So much so that you would knowingly put yourself into bad situations to be noticed and get sympathy.

Yes, everyone pity poor Bella Swan! Constantly suffering for the sake of others! Poor, wonderful Bella Swan, who must suffer amongst us lowly mortals but still deigns to grace us with her presence and offer us a single thread of her attention. But alas, for we pitiful humans are too common and unworthy of her very presence, and yet she must force herself to remain amongst us anyway. Oh, the tragedy!

You know, even the gods of the past had to actually DO things to warrant praise. Simply sitting around and acting put-upon was not it.

Don’t look so insulted. You could have at least TRIED to help, you know.

Do you have any idea how difficult it was setting everything up for you? You couldn’t just be a good little lamb to the slaughter, could you? Oh no. You had to make things dramatic just to follow some self-gratifying ideal of “romance”.

Hmm? Don’t you understand yet? Well, I suppose I should have expected that. I certainly didn’t choose you for your intelligence.

**I** fulfilled your fantasies. Every last one no matter how inane or pointless they were. All for the sole purpose of making that **idiot** the happiest he could ever be...and then ripping that happiness away right when things seemed at their best.

He has you. He has a daughter. You lot had just faced down the “big bads” and sent them packing without a fight. Honestly, I don’t see him ever being happier than he is right now.

Which means that now is the perfect time to take it all away. Just like he did to my dear contact.

So I really must thank you, Miss Swan.

**If not for you, I would be stuck following that ball of self-pity around for another century of watching him repeat high school and snub the humans. I may be a demon, but I do have a life. And other contracts to fulfill.**

Oh my, look at the time! I’ve lingered here long enough, I’m afraid. And your beloved is no doubt already searching for you.

Please don’t cry. Think of it as another “new beginning”. **A longer-lasting one.** After all, there is no such thing as forever for anyone.

I cannot. I’ve waited too long as it is. And honestly, you are simply too much of a nuisance left on your own anyway. Normally, I wouldn’t care one way or the other. But unfortunately, your “perfect slice of forever” is ruining my “human-watching”.

**And, of course, I do still have a contract to complete.**

Farewell, Miss Swan. I can’t say it is a sorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm fully aware that he's calling her Miss Swan when she's married and technically a Cullen now, but in his mind, everything was his own doing and required his involvement to even happen, so he doesn't consider her a Cullen. And she is really too much of a child to him for him to consider her a woman. Thus he refers to her as Miss Swan.
> 
> I've had some people in the forums asking me who the demon in question is supposed to be. A few even made guesses. I did not and will not name a specific person it is meant to be in favor of leaving it up to interpretation and the imagination of the reader. But I will admit that among my favorite guesses were Sebastian from Black Butler and HIM from PPG.


End file.
